Starlight
by YakaYoshi
Summary: Sola/Higurashi crossover. An obscure combo that means no one understands it enough to give it a review. On indefinite hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes**: This is my first story that isn't in script format. I usually post my fanfic on a different site, but I've decided to change writing style and start writing more detailed stories. I'm a beginner, so I'm still experimenting. This is an odd mix, I know, with the drama/romance Sola and the psychological horror Higurashi, plus the addition of an OC as the main character, but I bet it is a refreshing change from the usual crossovers you've seen on this site. Most importantly, I need to see reviews so I know what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right. Enjoy!

* * *

_My name is the sky…well, it's actually Sora Ishizuki…but I like my name. Especially the night time sky…it is the most beautiful thing in the world. The shining stars and it's beautiful, bright moon. As I took my small digital camera out of my dirty jacket pocket, I often wondered if I would be lying in this park every night for the rest of my life._

_I was born outside the cities. In a small village that had a cave. It was famous because there is a legend that a Yaka used to live in it. My ancestors apparently sacrificed human beings to keep the Yaka happy. Utter garbage. You can't toss human lives away so easily, for a thing that probably doesn't exist. But, even if yakas existed, I would probably help them. They would know. Apparently they can't go out in the sunlight. If that was true, then they might appreciate the night-time sky like I do. I wonder why I feel so happy when I do look up at the stars. My name does mean "sky" after all._

_As the moon slowly faded away, I looked at myself. It's been 2 months, my mind said. Two months since I ran away from that horrible village. I have no memory of how and why I decided that I had to run away. I've been by myself for so long…walking through the Japanese countryside. Now I'm in some town. All I know about it is that my cousins live here. They are the only family I have left. Was it really worth it? Yes! Of course it was! My family…why did my parents have to die? Suddenly, I heard a noise. It was the sound of a can dropping from a vending machine. I stood up. There was no-one there. As I walked toward it, I looked at my clothes. A red with white trim shirt, covered with my dirty brown jacket. My ragged blue jeans had seen better days. Same for my sport shoes. No matter! I'm going to get myself a drink!_

_Damn it! I'm short by 10 yen! Not only that, but the can that should have been there was gone! Hmm…how about if I…kick it? No one's here. The worse that will happen is that the machine completely breaks down, and whenever someone puts money in it, you have to kick it to get it working. Alright Sora…time to show this machine a lesson…or two…or three…AH!_

_I kicked the machine 3 times with full force. A can came down! Yay! I picked it up, opened the can, and drank it in one gulp. Then came the awful truth. It was tomato juice._

"Ugh…my stomach…"

_My stomach felt weird. I didn't even look at the flavour. Tomato Juice! This is what vampires eat when they have a lack of blood! I walked back down to the small hill on the park, and sat down slowly. Eventually…I fell asleep…zzz…_

_**Starlight**_

**Chapter 1: Sora & His Sacrifices**

_Karma. It was supposed to hit me back threefold, but it seemed to hit a strange girl instead, as I was going to find out soon enough…_

_3:45am…_

_The sound of clicking woke me up. That and…a cold shivering in my body…oh god._

_My eyes opened. I'm lying in the river! How the hell did that happen!? I splashed around, trying to find myself some hard ground. Thankfully, I was only in knee deep water. As I stood up, I crouched down again. A guy my age was standing on the hill, getting his camera ready! Did he push me down here! No…impossible. No one would do such a thing._

_The guy was so distracted with his camera; he mustn't have noticed my splashing in the river. He had brown hair with eyes to match. His clothes…were similar to mine, except different colors. His jeans were not ragged and torn, unlike my jeans. He was wearing a white shirt over his yellow singlet._

_As he kept watch at the sky, I sneaked back to higher ground. I eventually sat down in the gazebo near the vending machine. It looked like he was going to take pictures of the sunrise. I also took out my camera. It wouldn't turn on though. The river…sigh_

_As the next few minutes passed, I noticed a girl walking toward the vending machine. My mind went numb. She was…wow, what can I say. Beautiful. Everything about her was perfection…from her long, purple-black hair to the little maroon hat she was wearing. And she was looking at the boy with the camera._

_She then focused on the vending machine. I took a breath, stood up, started walking and did the one thing I wanted to do in ages. Talk to someone my own age._

"Hey there…I think you should be careful of that machine." The girl turned around as I approached her.

"Why is that?" she replied back with a smile. Not a bad first impression. "I think it swallows your money without giving you the can."

She took out some spare change, and put the change in the machine. I looked at the boy with the camera. I whispered to the girl. "Do you know that guy? He seems strange."

She sighed sadly and waited for the can to drop down. "I know him from my past…hey, why were you in the river?"

I started to feel nervous. This was a weird situation. "I have no idea. Did you get your can yet?"

At those words, she checked the machine. The can wasn't in the slot.

"We have a problem…I know how to fix it…"

_Suddenly, she kicked at the machine. Startled, I looked at the boy. He wasn't looking, but I didn't want him to notice me. As the girl kept kicking at the vending machine, I hid behind the machine._

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Kicking always works!"

"Whatever, hurry up, the boy is coming."

_I fell silent after she kicked the machine again. The boy walked toward her, and they started talking. I was still hiding behind the machine. I heard another bump from the machine, and the sound of the can dropping was heard._

"Damn…why am I doing this?"

Suddenly, as I was stuck in my thoughts, the girl grabbed my hand, and started running. I was dragged away from the park, as the boy was holding the can by himself. It was a can of tomato juice!

…

_My Life is about to get complicated. No surprise…my life is already complicated._

_I'm running through the town, with a strange girl in front of me. 5 minutes ago, we met each other at the park, and we ran away from a strange boy our age. He was taking pictures of the sky. As we ran past the convenience store, the sun was starting to rise._

"HEY! Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe!"

"What? Oh jeez…"

_I spotted a church a couple minutes later, and we hid there while the sun was rising. I wanted to see the sunrise, but the girl closed all the windows. It was futile anyway. Even if I was outside, people from the town would spot me and report me to the police for disturbing the peace._

_2 hours later…_

_This is the first time I've been in a church for while. And it sucks. For the last two hours, I've attempted to sleep in this silent place. Even the carpet feels weird. And the girl…she's been sitting next to me the whole time._

"Umm…why are we here? Don't you have school? And what's your name?"

She took a deep breath, and replied back with a smile.

"My name is Matsuri Shihou. Umm…why are we here again? You said we should come here. And as for school…hehe…man, you're a funny one, yaka. What's your name?"

"Matsuri Shihou…what a nice name…and you don't like school…wow…and you think I'm a Yaka…hahahaha…ha…what?"

As a finished my awkward laugh, she flicked my nose.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, I'm just a little tired. Forget what I said about yaka. I meant baka."

"Idiot!? Hey, that's mean. And stop laughing!"

_Matsuri Shihou. My first friend in 2 months. We spent the day in the church, talking about our lives. I introduced myself as Sora Ishizuki. I tried to explain about my bad past in the village, and how I ran away to find my cousin Mana, but things were very fuzzy in my head. Perhaps I wanted to start a new life in this town. Matsuri meanwhile told me that she was exploring too. Especially through the night._

"You say that you don't explore the town during the day. Does that mean you like the nighttime sky too?"

"Well…you could say that."

_Wow! This is perfect! Someone like me! Soul mate, girlfriend, best friend…whatever my feelings for her are, I'm just happy to find someone to talk to._

_But as the nights go on, I might regret that…_

_6:30pm._

_The sun was gone. The sound of crickets could be heard as Matsuri opened the windows of the church. And now were going on some sort of date. Well, going to the convenience store isn't really a date…more like a chore that's been turned into a fun activity. As I opened the door, the moonlight shined on me. What a great night this is going to be._

"Sora…you look dazed." Oops. My mind wandered off again. "I'm ok Matsuri. Let's go get something to eat."

…

"Hey, there you are."

"Shut up. Being in a cardboard box all day isn't fun."

"I know. That's why I'm tracking down the yaka, so you can turn back into a human. Don't worry Mayuko; you will be human again in no time."

"Yeah, it's only been…so long…that I lost count."

"Well…judging by the goatee I have, it's been a while."

Mayuko breathed a sigh of disappointment as Takeshi made that statement. It's been so long…since he made that promise. He won't go back with it. And after all this time…he thinks he finally found Matsuri Shihou.

"Well Mayuko, stay in the box while I find the yaka," Takeshi warns his tiny companion as he prepares to leave.

"Right…and if you do find and kill the yaka, and I do turn human again, make sure you get some decent clothes for me to wear."

_7pm._

"Umm…excuse me sir, but do you have any cans of tomato juice?"

_Tomato juice! Yuck. It must be an acquired taste or something. I'm with Matsuri in the convenience store. We already got ourselves some rice balls and I got myself a can of lemonade, but Matsuri wanted…something else. Jeez…_

"Sorry Miss, but we don't sell that type of can anymore."

"Aww…well, if by any chance you start selling them again, I'll be here to buy them!?

"Of course! Thank you, come again."

_So we left the store, Matsuri a bit disappointed. It's strange. The signs are all there. She doesn't go out in the daylight. Plus she loves Tomato Juice; the closest thing to blood._

"Hey Sora, can I ask you something?"

The timing of Matsuri's question better be a damn coincidence. Vampires don't exist. It's not like she's asking for my blood. "Of course…what is it?"

"Are you going to drink that can of lemonade?" Matsuri asked playfully.

_Vampires. What was I thinking? I would have been ambushed by now and had my neck sucked dry. If she is not a vampire, then she is probably a different kind of supernatural being. As I handed the can to Matsuri, I suddenly heard a deep voice from behind._

"Stop right there yaka."

_Matsuri and I slowly turned around, silently cursing to myself. A strange man with a goatee was holding a sword. Oh, and judging from his looks alone, I think I recognize the guy. _

"This is it…I finally tracked you both down. Sora Ishizuki, on the run from his village. And Matsuri Shiho. A yaka."

* * *

Sora Ishizuki and Matsuri Shihou were on their way to the park when suddenly, an older man told them to stop moving. Sora knows this man.

"Takeshi, is that you? Oh thank goodness. I make it to Kanamigawa in one piece, and you ruin things, barely a single day after I arrived. And with that sword too."

"You know this sword Sora? If you don't step away from the yaka next to you, then I will use it on you too."

Suddenly, Matsuri started running. Takeshi ran after her, throwing weird lamps at her. Sora just stands speechless as the two of them run off into the dark night.

"After all this time…I've doubted the existence of a yaka. And I've been hanging out with one the whole time."

_I walked back to the church, munching on the rice balls. Since I'm by myself again, I might as well think things through. Matsuri is a yaka. It makes sense. I have a decent sense of deduction, and the clues are all there. Is she the fabled yaka that was living in the cave hundreds of years ago? My grandfather told me stories about it. He was only 9 at the time. His grandfather was one of the only men in the village that didn't believe in the "woe of the Night" monster, and he said that sacrificing a human every year was blasphemy. But, eventually, my great ancestor fell for the stupid lie._

_My great, great grandfather. He was named Sora as well._

_My family was hated throughout the village. Everyone still believed in the yaka. These days, my family and I didn't. And even if we did believe in the existence of a yaka, giving a human away to it is stupid. Pointless sacrificing._

…

As Sora approached the church door, he decided to sit on the ground and stare at the stars.

"The last human to be sacrificed…was a girl named Aono Morimiya…and her brother Yorito was with her when they died. I hope those two are alright up in heaven. Maybe heaven has a night-time sky too…"

…

For the next few days, Sora kept a strict pattern. He slept in the church throughout the day, hoping Matsuri would come back. And at night, he searched the town, trying to find her. He also looked for his cousin Mana, but with no success. And now he had no money. What's a guy like Sora to do!?

"Time to get a job! Surely Mana will eventually bump into me!"

And with that, he left the church with a smile, humming to himself as he ventured to the store.

"I won't forget…I want to forget…"

As he hummed a little tune to himself, he walks into an alley, and eventually to a wrecked train station.

"Huh? What have I found?"

Suddenly, a flash of light blinds his eyes. His vision is muddled…but he notices two figures running past him.

"Matsuri! Takeshi! Where are you? Someone help me!"

…

Meanwhile; Matsuri and Takeshi stop moving. They stare at Sora, who is lying on the ground, yelling at them both.

"Is this guy your accomplice?"

"No…just leave him out of this."

Sora slowly stands up and regains his vision.

"Matsuri! There you are! I know the truth. I understand your—"

Takeshi stops Sora's little speech by slashing his sword at Sora's left shoulder.

"Sora!" Matsuri tries to run to Sora's side, but Takeshi darts in front of her and blocks her path. "Even if he is not your friend, I was ordered to murder him."

"That's…a lie! I thought you were my friend!?" Sora yells out, struggling to see while holding his shoulder.

"You stay out of this." Takeshi knocks him back with the bunt of his sword. Sora hits the ground and blacks out.

"Alright…you dealt with him. Just leave him alone and go for me."

"That's what I plan to do."

Matsuri runs toward Sora, placing her hand on his shoulder for a moment. She then starts running again, and Takeshi slowly follows. Sora is left on the ground. He opens his eyes for a moment…glancing at his wound for a single second.

"My shoulder…"

Sora gives up and closes his eyes once again. As Takeshi and Matsuri run toward the church, Sora Ishizuki is left unconscious, under the night-time sky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note**: Sae Sakura, one of Mana's friends in Sola, can kind of be considered as a minor character. Along with Mana, her role seems insignificant. She will also play a major role in this story. Friend? Enemy? Lover!? Also, you would have noticed that I switch from first-person to third-person a few times.

…

_I knew this day would come…the day my past came back to haunt me, and kick me in the backside._

**Chapter 2: Startling Sae Sakura**

_My arm twitched uncomfortably. I felt a strange tingling sensation in my shoulder. And yet I didn't want to open my eyes. Not yet…because once I do, life is going to get a hell of a lot more difficult._

_Wait…when has life ever been easy? A home town where nearly everyone disliked you? On the run from Takeshi after my parents died two months ago? Right…life will never get easier when I lie down with my eyes close._

…

7pm, Thursday; July 12, 2007. Empty alleyway.

And with that, Sora Ishizuki opened his eyes and slowly stood up. After yawning, he looked up at the sky. It was already night-time; the street lamps were on, and there was an eerie silence that Sora was used to. He placed his hand on the left shoulder that Takeshi cut him with. There was no blood. No pain. In fact, when he lifted his sleeve to look at his shoulder properly, there was only a faint scar-line where the cut was.

"Well…with Friday the 13th tomorrow, I'm guessing I got my good luck's worth today."

…

_Now what to do…it's obvious now that I can't live with Mana yet. If I did find her, Takeshi will track me down and harm her and cute Koyori in the process. So…I must somehow get rid of him and save Matsuri. And h__ow the hell am I supposed to do that!? He has my father's sword! And every time I fought him, he beat me easily. Don't ask. Takeshi and I go way back. Well, if you can call half a year way back. I have to run back to the church, before it's too late. I'm starting to wonder about the boy at the park. There's something about him that rings a bell..._

…

"Oh, that's just nice. Ruin my only safe place Takeshi!"

Sora returns to the abandoned church. The pipes around the side of the building have become rusted. The front door has been damaged, and a few of the windows have been shattered. His hideout hasn't been completely destroyed, but he knows that returning here is too dangerous now. As he continues to mumble angrily, a shadow slowly approaches...

"Umm…hello there? Are you alright?"

Sora turns around. A girl is looking at him, holding a bag of groceries. He blushes as he notices her cute face and glasses. Her eyes are a shining hazel, and her grey-blackish hair causes Sora to space out a little. She puts the bag down, waiting for a reply.

"Yeah…I'm fine."

"Oh, ok then…"

The girl begins to turn around, as she picks up her groceries. Suddenly, Sora speaks out.

"Wait. I'll help you carry that bag."

He continues to blush as she stares at him with interest. She then gives him a warm smile, picks up the groceries and walks closer to him.

"Wow. This is unexpected. Ok!"

She gives him the bag of groceries. Together, they start to walk away from the church, and toward the streets and shops again.

"You're not from around here, aren't you?"

"Uhhhh…yeah…I suppose not."

"Cool! Then let me show you around! You're so kind for helping me! Some people these days wouldn't even bother to help a person in need, even though I didn't really need it…"

_This girl doesn't stop talking now. Oh well, I think she might know Mana or Matsuri…it's a gut instinct. And maybe…just maybe…_

"So, what's your name?"

"Oh! It's Sae. Sae Sakura. Yours?"

"Sora Ishizuki. Do you know a girl named Mana Ishizuki?"

"Mana! Of course! She's my classmate! She is a bit strange, she likes Yorito for some reason…oh! And she works at the Azure Restaurant, though she might be quitting soon…why do you ask? Are you her long lost sister! Or is there something more serious…aww…"

_Boy, this Sae girl really likes to gossip. Hmm…those glasses make her look kind of cute. Wait a moment._

"Well, I'm her cousin. And…wait! Serious relationship!? If I had the last name of hers, and I wasn't a cousin or sister, I'd be her—"

"I'm just kidding! Hahaha…don't worry about it."

Sora sighs in relief as they walk past Yorito's house. What Sora doesn't know is that Matsuri is inside that house right now, recovering…

…

He eventually arrives at Sae's house. She is quietly laughing to herself as they walk past the front gate.

"Let me guess. No parents home?"

"Hehe…how did you know?"

Sora smirks at her while he leaves his shoes at the entrance mat. "It seems to be a trend of some sort. Now if you excuse me, I really…REALLY, need a shower." Sae stares back at him with a silly smile. "Alright then, you kinda stink."

Sora is already running up a staircase. "Kinda!? I haven't had a shower in 2 months!"

The moon is shining like billions of fireflies coming together. The moonlight is faintly lighting up a single room in the hospital. Aono Morimiya stares at the various dolls that his younger brother has given to her in the past few months. She looks at the moon from her window.

"…Matsuri…Sora…"

"You said his name again."

Koyori Ishizuki is peeking from the door. She slowly walks in.

"It is none of your concern Koyori."

At this, Sora's cousin frowns.

"But, Koyori wants to know about him. You mentioned my cousin's name when we first met. Mana and Koyori have never seen him before."

"I don't think…it is time to tell you."

Aono places her head on the pillow, and silently falls asleep.

…

7am, Friday; July 13, 2007. Sae's bedroom.

_No, it is not what you are thinking of. I am not sleeping with Sae. I'm sleeping under Sae. Wait, that sounds worse. Ouch! My head!_

Sora Ishizuki opened his eyes. He suddenly raised his head and hit the bottom of her bed. He is in fact sleeping under Sae's bed.

"Good morning sunshine! Have a good—"

"No. I know this is necessary so your parents don't find out that I'm here, but can I sleep in the backyard instead? I want to see the stars."

Sora eventually rolls out of the small space he was sleeping in, and looks up at Sae. Her glasses are off, and she is wearing a nightgown. He quickly stands up and heads for the bathroom next door, Sae following as she grabs her glasses from the bedside table.

"So are they gone yet?" He turns the tap on and washes his face. "My father has, mother is still downstairs eating some toast and talking on her mobile. Gossiping, as usual. Kinda like me when I'm at school. Did you know—?"

"Dad's gone, Mum's downstairs. Got it. Are you going to school?"

"Yeah, I suppose. What about you?" She begins to take off her nightgown as Sora covers his eyes.

"Wait! I'm a boy! Doesn't that—"

"Oh. Sorry, habit. You better go back to the bedroom."

He sighs with relief as he slumps back to her room.

_Chemistry, and it's only been 5 minutes. Jeez. Maybe I should ask her to help me find a job before she goes. I hope Matsuri's doing alright…hell, I hope Matsuri's alive..._

…

"Take this! Come on! Why won't it work!"

Matsuri is kicking at Yorito's fridge. I think she's doing fine. Although…

"I hope Sora's alright. His shoulder wound should be nothing but a tiny scar by now. And as for this machine, one more time! YAH!"

…

"What? Part-time job? I don't think now is the right time to ask Sora."

Sae and Sora are crouching on the stairs, watching Sae's mother running out the front door. She yells out to Sae.

"I'm going to work now Sae! Your father and I will be back at 8! Don't forget to wash the dishes!" Sae yells back as she closes the door. "Yeah Mum! Have a good day…while I secretly hide a cute boy in the house."

"Did you have to say that last bit? And will you help me find a part-time job or not?"

"Of course! I'm sure the Azure Restaurant could use another male waiter. Besides, Mana is slacking off lately."

"Alright! Let's go there after school! Oh, what I am doing while you have school?"

At this, Sae pulled another confused face. "What? Come with me of course. Mana will be there."

"NO! Not yet!"

"Huh? Why not? Scared?"

"No…" Sora starts frowning as he thinks of Takeshi and the powerful sword he carries. "My situation is a bit complicated. I want to meet her at the restaurant."

"I'm confused. Are you hiding something? You can tell me."

_Oh man…I don't want Sae to get involved. What should I do…it's not like I can tell her…_

"I don't want to get Sae involved. What should I tell her…it's not like Sae would believe me. Sure, I'm a boy raised in a village where they believe in the Yaka, and my best friend Takeshi suddenly takes the sword that can supposedly kill one, and now he wants to murder me, Matsuri and even people that I get involved with…wait…did I just say my thoughts out aloud?

Sae nods her head slowly, gob-smacked.

…

_Well, this has become a real bother._

Sora is standing in the middle of an aisle. He's in a grocery store, after Sae sent him there to get some more groceries. He's staring at the shopping list, trying to remember what some of this stuff is.

_Softener…what's that again? Toilet paper and tissues…what's the main difference? Small plush doll!? What the hell!? I guess the doll must be a gift for somebody. But why do I have to get it?  
_

He thinks back to when Sae was about to go to school, and she gave Sora a few bags.

"You can do the shopping this morning! Since we'll be busy going to the Azure restaurant this afternoon. Make sure you get a good looking doll. I want to give it to somebody, who wants to give it to someone else, and he wants to give it to her sister…"

"Yes! I get it already!" Sora runs out the door as he gets away from Sae's constant talking. As reality takes him back to the shopping aisle, he grabs a small cat doll.

_Hmm…I thought these kinds of things were only in a toy store? But Sae said to ignore doll stores. That's just plain ridiculous._

…

_4pm, Friday; July 13, 2007. Azure Restaurant._

Sora and Sae are standing out the back of the Azure Restaurant. The boss, a tall, mustached man named Hatori frowns at Sora.

"Resume. This guy needs one if he wants to get a job here."

Sora looks back, confused. "Resume? What is that?"

"What!? Do you come from some backwater county town or something!?"

"Yeah. I ran away from a small village 2 months ago. Not many jobs are there. What's a resume?"

Sae starts laughing out loud, she can't stop. "Sora…I'm so sorry…Boss, I'll help him write a resume. We'll give it to you next week."

Hatori turns around and heads inside. "Whatever Sae, since I'm unsure of Mana's position here, you have one week. Now come inside and start your shift."

…

_7:30am, Thursday; July 19th, 2007. Outside Sae Sakura's house._

A week has passed. Sora is wearing black sunglasses over his eyes. They are quite special. It was a mixture of hazel and a tint of gold. Kinda like Sae's eyes…he smiles as he shows Sae his resume.

"Well Sora, I have school now. I'll ask Mana if she is still working at the Azure Restaurant. See you at 4:30!"

She skips cheerfully away from the front gate. Sora blushes again as he starts walking the opposite direction.

_There is a certain charm about Sae…hmm…her bubbly nature I guess. And now that I've stayed at her house for a week, it seems that were becoming good friends. That Resume took longer than I thought. I had to explain things about my past. It was…uncomfortable. But I guess our trust is at an all time high, now that she knows everything about Takeshi, the legend about the "yaka" and why I ran away. She truly is a good friend. Talkative, a little slow-witted, weird hairstyle…but she has her good qualities. But still...why does my head feel out of place? It's like there are some missing blanks that I have to fill in.  
_

…

9am, School Roof.

"The clouds are pretty good today…why hasn't Yorito been acting like himself? And you're definitely more cheerful than ever, if that's even possible Sae."

"Well, the sky and starlight lately is just so beautiful! I can see why Yorito is like this."

Mana Ishizuki and Sae Sakura are lying down on the school roof, looking at the clouds with half interest. Yorito isn't at school today, and Mana thinks he's up to something.

"Have you and Yorito talked lately? You usually think Yorito as a bit of a weirdo."

"No, we haven't talked…oh Sora…"

"Sora?"

"Yes…he's such a nice guy…and he's like Yorito, but better. We painted my bedroom roof like the night-time sky last night. It's so beautiful…"

Mana sits up and looks at Sae with a frown. She suddenly pops out of her little dreamy state. "Wait. Did I speak my thoughts out aloud?!"

Mana has a sly smile on her face. "I guess. So who is this Sora?"

"Classified Information." She giggles as she goes on to her question. "By the way, are you still working at the Azure Restaurant?"

…

Later that night, Sae and Sora are standing together in the upstairs bathroom. Sae's parents have fallen asleep, so they whisper to each other while talking about the events of today.

"I got the job. Hatori made me a waiter and kitchen hand. But I get double pay."

"Good job Sora. Anyway…time to have a shower…"

"Yeah, anyway, what did Mana say when…oh god."

Sora quietly slips out the room as Sae starts to take off her clothes.

_Is she that dim-witted? Aww man, I'll ask tomorrow._

The next day, the two of them finally got the same shift. After the usual chaos, the pair of them are working the night shift from 6-9pm. As they change clothes on opposite sides of the changing room, they yell at each other to communicate.

**"So, what did Mana say!?"**

**"Oh! Her!? Yeah, she quit. Must be why you're doing two jobs!?"**

"…"

"Sora?"

**"God damn it!"**

"Oh…I see. You're pissed."

But Sora is going to be even more pissed off as he walks toward his first 2 customers of the night. The first person was a male. Judging by his slightly skinny figure and the awkward way he was wearing his glasses, you'd think that Takeshi was harmless. The younger girl sitting beside her was wearing a green-doll like dress and carrying a pink rabbit doll. Sora recognized her bright blue eyes, pigtails and frown almost immediately. It was Mayuko. They are sitting near the window, and surprise surprise; she is complaining about what to eat. They are too distracted looking at the menus to notice Sora scowling.

"So, do you want seafood or not?"

"Hmm…well, as long as there is some salad."  
"Alright, whatever. Let's just order. Waiter!"

Sora puts on a smug smile as he welcomes his customers. "Hello Takeshi. Can't murder me here in the public eye, do you know that?"

* * *

Meanwhile, 200 miles away...in Sora's hometown village, 3 hooded strangers and two females are having a meeting. The 5 of them look at the unconscious girl lying next to them. One of the females; a blond haired shrine maiden speaks first.

"It's been 25 years since we escaped the curse. Do you think using the girl to manipulate Sora's memories was a good idea? Maybe this issue will go away and we can return to our peaceful-" Suddenly, one of the hooded strangers interrupts. "Do not worry Satoko. I believe that Sora will rediscover his past by himself. We just gave him a push in the right direction. I hear that the wheel of fate will begin to turn in the town of Kanamigawa."


	3. Chapter 3

_He is finally alone. The Yaka named Matsuri is not here. I don't know how he ended up working at this restaurant, but I can finally…exchange our misfortune. Sora Ishizuki needs to learn the truth._

**Chapter 3: In the region of HinamiSola, 6 months ago...**

Sora Ishizuki just walked toward his first customers in the Azure Restaurant unexpectedly. He is glaring at Takeshi with full force. Mayuko smiles though when she sees Sora. Takeshi sighs with relief.

"Sora," Mayuko muses out loud. "How did you get here? And you look quite fashionable in that waiter outfit."

"Now's not the time Mayuko. Unless Takeshi here has a pretty damn good story why he took my parents sword, killed my parents and is now trying to kill me."

"The sword, sure…but killing you and your parents? Man, your village leaders are insane. It's time you learnt the truth Sora. Why would I kill you? It's pointless for my mission."

"Yeah, that mission you seemed to go on about back when you stayed at my house. What is it? Because if you don't tell me now…"

"**SORA!? What the hell are you doing?"**

Hatori is walking toward Sora, shaking his fist madly. Sae is following, a little confused. Luckily, no other customers are in the restaurant. Sora is quick to act; "Oh…boss, this girl is very picky about what she wants to eat. You know, the man here has a daughter, and you know how they are with food…hehehe…_I hope your happy Takeshi. Fake profile. Caring father_."

Sae meanwhile is in her dreamy state. _"Wow…that man has such a cool goatee…"_ Hatori stops frowning, and puts on a smile for Mayuko. "I'm sorry for the rudeness. This is Sora's second day, and he is still quite rough around the edges. What would you like to eat?" Mayuko keeps quiet for a moment, and turns to face Takeshi. She eventually makes her decision. "I made a mistake Takeshi. You're not the worse anymore. Sora's boss is."

"**The worse!? Why you little—"**

"I will have the herb spiced prawn dish with lemon sauce. I'll also have a small garden salad. If that is possible of course."

Hatori slowly takes a deep breath and walks off, a bit shocked and pleased that she ordered such a good dish. Sae starts to giggle, because of Mayuko's order, Sora's humor and Takeshi's goatee. "Oh, thank you so much for doing that young girl! And oh my! You there, with the goatee, what's your name?" Sora snaps back, quite irritated. "Sae, now's not the time. Give me 10 minutes with these two, and then you can talk to Mr. Goatee man."

"Aww…but I want to talk to the goatee man now…" She walks off, very disappointed. Sora finally sits down next to Mayuko and faces Takeshi eye-to-eye. "Alright, let's start from scratch. Your mission, and why you took the sword."

"Ok then. But first tell me how you know about Mayuko. She seems to recognize you."

_**6 months ago…**_

_  
200 kilometers away from proper civilization. In a village with only 200 people. And they say Hinamizawa is a small countryside town. Those pointless murders...why did they occur anyway?_

Sora is lying on a grassy hill just outside his village Sola. Looking out at the beautiful clouds, avoiding work from his parents.With his left hand, he moves his chestnut brown hair out of his eyes.

_Sola is said to have the best view of the sky…which is why the village recently got the name. But also because of its second meaning. In Spanish, it means…_

"_Alone."_

"Were alone in this country…like I said, were far away from proper civilization. And the people of this village want to keep it that way. Whether it is because of the dangerous town Hinamizawa just a few miles away from here, or because of our own little private matters that we want kept hidden from the world…"

"Well, how do you supply yourself and keep your people alive?"

Huh? Sora sits up. A man is knelling down to look at him. A cardboard box is on the grass next to him. "What?"

"You were talking to yourself. About Hinamizawa and Sola. Boy, avoiding Hinamizawa was tough…so, how do you supply your village?"

I looked at the man. He was wearing black clothes. His black jacket was unbuttoned, revealing his purple buttoned shirt. A small pair of glasses was hanging on his eyes, and he had a small goatee growing on his chin. He smiled, waiting for my answer.

"You know, it's hard to say, but we supply each other. The village elders know each other, and though we supply each other with food and building material, we don't make any type of contact. Stories of murder and some sort of cursed festival are heard all the time whenever I visit the town of Okinomiya. The owner of the Angel-Mort restaurant claims that the town is abandoned, but since all entry to Hinamizawa is blocked, I can't go there to find out myself. Meanwhile, my village people are too busy fearing this yaka legend that I find…kind of stupid, don't you think?"

Suddenly, the cardboard box rattled. I stood up very quickly and backed off. The man opened the box and whispered inside it. Then he closed it again. "Sorry about that. I've got something…uh…volatile in there."

"What!? You mean…it could…explode without proper care?"

"Volatile as in the thing in it will get mad if we say the wrong stuff. Don't say anything about yakas, and help me carry this box into the village."

And with that, I reluctantly helped the man pick up his box and help carry it into Sola village. As we walked off the grassy hill, and past the empty cave which is where the yaka "supposedly" lived hundreds of years ago, until eventually we made it to my house. All the houses in this village are small, but quite cozy. We have one small school, just like Hinamizawa, but there are even less kids here. I grew up with my cousin Mana, but she moved away 7 years ago, along with her family. The basic of the basics only exist here. A small Clinic, a small police station and council where the village elders live. The only extra building we seem to have is a shrine. This scares me a bit…how similar Sola is to Hinimizawa…

"**5 minutes left!"**

Back in reality, Sae yells out to Sora, Takeshi and Mayuko, while running to the kitchen carrying stacks of plates. Takeshi moans rather loudly after hearing the beginning of this lone flashback tale. "When you meant start from scratch, I didn't think the day I met you 6 months ago. You know this is going to take more than 5 minutes to tell each other our stories."

"Whatever Takeshi. That very same night I actually came across Mayuko."

"What?! Mayuko, why didn't you tell me this?"

"I didn't really feel like it. And where's the food? I'm hungry. Sora's boss is the worst."

_Hmm, looks like settling things with Takeshi will have to wait._ Sora quickly jumps out of the table he's sitting in and walks toward the kitchen. "Sae, I'm coming to help you with those dishes."

…

Later that night, about 3 hours later, Hatori was busy closing for the night. He gave the keys to Sae and told her to lock up when Sora and Takeshi are done talking. The only reason he is letting them stay is because of that scary girl. _"That girl…" _Hatori shivers in fear whenever he looks at her. Meanwhile; Sae, Sora, Takeshi and Mayuko are sitting together on a 4-seated table. Sora begins the conversation. "So where was I…?"

"We arrived at your house with the box."

The man and I arrived at my house, and I quietly opened the door. Because the house is just a small-to-medium sized cottage, the interior is really cozy. After taking off our shoes, we walked over to the living room, and placed the heavy cardboard box on the soft polyester carpet. The man immediately sat on one of our soft blue chairs, and stretched his arms out in relaxation.

"Thanks for letting me stay here. Now, do you have a guest bedroom?"

"A guest…bedroom? Yeah, but it's quite small, and my parents—"

The man interrupted me in a very calm manner. "Don't worry. I won't stay for too long. Can you keep a secret?"

I said yes, and then he started talking very quickly. His name was Takeshi Tsujido. He apparently came here to find a sword that has been hidden in this village for years. I introduced myself as Sora Ishizuki of course, and told him about the village Sola. He nodded his head, and grabbed the box again. "I'm just going to take this outside Sora. Be back in a minute."

Takeshi took the box to the backyard, and I went over to pick up the phone. The only reason we have phone signals and electricity is because of Hinamizawa's and Okinomiya's resources. I dialed the number of my best and only friend, Natsumi Kimiyoshi. She moved away from Hinamizawa a few years ago, which I found strange, but she has been a great companion ever since we met. I had to get some answers off her; she was the closest connection to the Village Elders.

"Hello?" She said in her bright voice. I still wonder how she came here, escaping all the murders and whatnot. "It's Sora. I need to ask you something about the village elders." She encountered the village elders before being allowed to move here, and she was allowed to stay. The elders are very private, and they don't talk to the other villagers in Sola very often. But Natsumi...

"Oh, hi Sora! What do you want to know?"

"Can you go talk to them about new people in the town? A man named Takeshi suddenly arrived, and now he's in my backyard, carrying a suspicious box. He seems to have been past Hinamizawa."

"Wow…he must be very lucky then! I'll go talk to them later today."

"Thanks. You don't know how relived I am. You know what to say."

"Of course."

We hung up at the same time. It feels uncomfortable, but once you enter Sola, it might be a while before you leave. Takeshi then entered the house again, and sat down on the lounge chairs.

…

Back at the Azure Restaurant, Takeshi frowns in disappointment. Sae looks confused, and she takes out a small book. The cover has a picture of Rena Ryuugu, with a cleaver in her hand.

"Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Hinamizawa can't exist! You didn't tell me this while we wrote the resume."

I already had a reply, just in-case. "Some things are better left unsaid. Besides, I'm unsure if the town even exists. No one in Sola has ever gone near the closed off village. Anyway, Takeshi, what happened once you met my parents and decided to take a walk through Sola? I expected that you bumped into Natsumi and the village elders."

"Yeah, your right. My turn."

Sora and I sat and talked about normal things through the afternoon. After a knock at the door at 6pm, Sora hopped up and answered it.

"Hi Mum! Hi Dad!"

Sora's mother…her name was Lua Ishizuki. Her long, wavy blue hair startled me. She was smiling, happy to see that they had company. The father was named Firo. He had an actual goatee on his chin, unlike my growing one. He looked very tired, and kept a straight face as Sora mentioned my name. They all walked toward me.

"I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, I have been trying to find this village for a while now—"

"Why? To find information about the Yaka? We don't believe in it."

…wow. So his whole family doesn't believe in it. In a town where most of the people are afraid of it.

"No, not that."

_Must think of a lie…_

"I'm a freelance photographer, looking into the Hinamizawa murder cases from 24 years ago."

At this, Lua's smile changed to a solumn frown. "Then you must leave. Immediately. You will get killed trying to find out. Like my cousin, Jiro."

_Damn it! I'm a bad liar. One last chance._

"Alright then, then I am here for the Yaka information. So then I can bust the myth once and for all. I don't believe in the yaka either."

For the next few minutes, I talked to Firo and Lua about staying and about my safety. Was this place just as bad as Hinamizawa? I left civilization last week; to find this village, just to have my car break down in the outskirts of Hinamizawa. And then it became a battle, just to escape with Mayuko and walk here, keeping her hidden in that box the whole time. As the conversation dragged on, I noticed that Sora left for a couple minutes. By the time his parents finally decided that I should go to the council building to talk to the elders, he came back, with a confused look.

"Alright then. I'll go talk to the village elders. Thanks for letting me stay at your house. Sora, I'll see you in the morning."

With that, I walked out as fast as my legs would carry. Oh crap, I've got to be fast. Mayuko might pop her head out and surprise them! As I jogged past the tiny school building, I couldn't help it. I ran, desperately trying to find the council building. Suddenly, I bumped into a girl and she fell over.

"Oh man…I'm so sorry; let me help you up…"

Natsumi Kimiyoshi was in a nightgown. Her peculiar green hair and bright orange eyes startled me a bit. But only a bit. What really scared me was the 3 hooded men walking toward us!

…

"**This is starting to sound like a horror fanfic!"** Sae's voice broke the flashback yet again, stopping Takeshi's story. It was 9:30pm, and it was starting to rain. The patter of the raindrops hitting the windows kept Mayuko's attention. Sae then looks at her watch. "Sora, we have to go home! This story can continue later!"

"Aww man, but it was getting to a good bit."

Takeshi suddenly stood up. Mayuko follows.

"Sorry Sora, but our long stories might carry on for a while. We will meet again at 10pm, tomorrow night at the Church. We will continue with no disruptions."

"Ok then…"

"We will find out each others motives…soon enough."

* * *

Eventually, at 11pm, Sora was back at Sae's house. He was lying out in the backyard, while Sae was sitting next to him. The rain had fortunately stopped.

"You told me about Natsumi, the small village, and the facts that your parents got killed and you ran away, but it seems there is a deeper story to this."

"Yeah, there is Sae. I think its best you don't know. I might scare you."

Sae suddenly lies down with him and whispers into his ear with her cheery voice. _"See you in the morning. I'm going to kill you if I have nightmares."_

That night, Sae Sakura dreamed about the "goatee man", while Sora stared at the stars.

"The view from here is just as good as the view from Sola."

…

_Friday, July 20th, 2007_

All day, Sora slept outside Sae's house. Her parents were too busy working to ever notice him, and Sae had school. He had many dreams throughout the day. Some good; like the bliss of never going to school again (he hasn't been to school since he ran away from Sola), reuniting with Mana or Matsuri, or buying some chocolate for Sae to impress her. But there was his share of nightmares. The thought of being alone again scared him. He had gained the happiness of friendship with Natsumi and Takeshi in the past few months, but things changed dramatically. But the weirdest dreams of all…were about a strange girl he had never seen before.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Sora is suddenly looking toward the cave back in Sola. He swears he saw someone in the cave. The voice speaks out again.

"Hey! The sun isn't out! It's safe to come out."

Slowly, Sora notices a shadow. Eventually, the girl steps out into the night's shadow. She had silver-white hair and red eyes that suddenly lit up when she saw her visitor. The girl was a lot shorter and younger than Sora; her pink kimono suited her very well. Her worried face turned into a warm smile. "Sora! I knew you would come to visit. Come inside!"

"Come…inside?" He gulped when he thought about a yaka living with her. But he told himself, that yaka's do not exist. So he slowly walked inside the dark cave…

…

"**SORAAAA!!" Wake up! Dinner is ready!"**

Back in reality, Sora sat up slowly, while yawning. The sun was already gone. He checked his watch. 6:30pm. He spent his entire day sleeping. Sora couldn't help it; he hasn't had a comfortable sleep in weeks.

_Wow…was I really asleep for the whole day? And who was that girl? She seems familiar…but I can't put my tongue on it._

"Sae…I feel disconnected."

"Disconnected? In what way? Did you have nightmares, because I did, thanks to your scary story—"

"I know it's a bit scary, with Hinamizawa existing and all, but don't worry. You don't have to listen to it anymore…unless you want to know how my parents really died?"

"You wrote down on the resume car crash."

"Pfft, there are no roads in Sola. You have to walk from Hina—

"Alright then! Let's have dinner!"

_Note to self, don't scare Sae anymore._

…

Sae and I had a quick dinner while her parents weren't home. I asked her quickly about Mana. "How is she these days? Does she still give out Mana-Chops? She did them to me back when we lived together."

"She seems ok at the moment. I got an interesting theory to tell you. Mana finally found out why Yorito was acting strange. He was hiding a girl in the house! And I think it's Matsuri!"

What!? I spat out my drink in surprise. Sae began to laugh. As expected from someone like her. How did she get this gossip?

"Alright then, stop laughing. What did Mana say?"

"She decided to visit Yorito's house. And then look around. She saw a girl that looked our age and they got acquainted. And I told you what Yorito looked like, right?"

"Right. I think he was the guy that I saw at the park when I first met Matsuri."

Suddenly, we heard the door open, followed by a female's voice talking on the mobile phone. Sae's mother has arrived home. Sae whispered to me. _"Hide quickly."_

I then had a quick thought into the bigger picture. I can't stay at Sae's anymore. Freeloading at her place all the time will eventually start to annoy her.

"No…I've decided. Sorry, but I can't stay at your house forever."

"Good evening Sae—What? Who are you?"

Sae's mother entered the room. I politely answered her question quickly. "Sora Ishizuki. I'm a friend of Sae. Just came by to help her cook some dinner. Anyway, I'm off for now. I'll see you at the Azure sometime this weekend Sae.

"Oh…ok Sora!"

I walked out of the house quickly. I hope Sae followed, so I could explain why I had to leave for now. I overheard her mother talking.

"That was fast. Were you two up to something?"

"No, of course not! Let me just properly say goodbye to him. He seemed to be in a rush."

Thank god. I knew she would follow.

2 minutes later…

"Why can't you stay a little longer!?" Sae was frowning at me. Eh, I expected it. At least she isn't crying. Or sobbing.

"I don't want to be a bother to you. Besides, I've had a great time staying with you, but I want to help Matsuri and find Mana. First I have to get some answers from Takeshi. And we can always talk at Azure or hang out in the weekends. I just need a mobile phone."

She sighed, but she put on a small smile.

"Alright then! Here's my number. Call me when you have a phone. And I'll see you at the Azure on Monday! Just don't expect me to talk much. The goatee man…"

"Yes, the damn goatee man. What if I grew one? Ah, never mind. I better go. I want to have a quick look at the stars in the park before meeting Takeshi."

…

_Ever since I finally found this town, there has been a sense of disconnection. The dreams with that girl from the cave don't feel right. And my goal of staying positive has been difficult…_

_A yaka is the embodiment of pain and loneliness in a human._

_If I died, would I become a yaka instead? No, I mustn't think those thoughts. I'm about to explain to Takeshi about meeting Mayuko, and in exchange, I'll find out what happened when he bumped into the village elders and Natsumi._

Sora had many things on his mind as he walked to the church just outside town. As he approached the door, he opened it with a renewed hope, and sat down next to Takeshi with a determined smile.

"Takeshi, continue."

"What, no 'Hello Takeshi, how've you been'?"

3 hooded men were walking toward me and the girl you call Natsumi. They were wearing black cloaks and big hoods, just like a member of the organization XIII. These must be the village elders. Because I couldn't see their faces, to me they were emotionless when they spoke in their raspy voices.

"You are the one called Takeshi, are you not?"

"Yes. Yes I am. I was on your way to find your building and inform you of my arrival."

"Ah…yes…Natsumi here happily found you for us."

The girl Natsumi frowned as the second man mentioned her name. "Whatever, I'm going home now."

She walked off while yelling out to me.

"See you at school tomorrow Mr. Takeshi!"

"Mr.? School?"

The third one spoke this time. I was surprised that it was a female's voice.

"Yes, you'll be staying here for a while. We need another teacher to teach the few kids we have here. Besides, I heard you are looking for something here, are you not?"

_I've been found out. Is this because of Sora, or are these people smarter than I thought? Well, should I tell them the truth or not? If I am going to be here for a while looking for the sword, in the village where a yaka did live here for a short time, then what choice do I have?_

"Yes. I supposed you've heard of the sword that can take the life force from a yaka and turn another back into a human?"

At this, the three of them looked taken aback. The female even took off her hood to reveal her face.

…

Back in the church, Sora started to bug Takeshi with an obvious question. "Wow! What does she look like!? I always wanted to know. She was the friendliest of them, even though she seemed to overpower the two men of the elders."

"Hmm…for now, I will not tell you Sora. It will make more sense later. But for now, I'm going to tell you about the sword and why I need to kill your 'friend' Matsuri."

…

The female elder took off her cloak. She was younger than I thought. Her mature beauty stunned me; at the time I thought she was 30; boy, how wrong was I.

"What a surprise! The story of that sword has always intrigued me since I moved and became an elder for this village 24 years ago! Don't you think so too?"

She looked sternly at the two cloaked men. They nodded their heads slowly in reply. One of them whispered to the other, and he decided to approach me.

"We are looking for that sword. If you think its here, then someone in Sola is hiding it from us. We'll make sure to help find it for you. On the condition you help Natsumi and Sora as a teacher. How about, gym? Since you look tough."

"Oh! Of course! Thank you very much! But I guess you must want to see the yaka. She is harmless."

The female elder spoke again. "We believe you. Ever since we took charge, we still believe in the yaka, but we take a more optimistic approach. They are not monsters, unlike what some of the people and their ancestors thought. Let us take this conversation someplace else. The council building perhaps?"

One of the men spoke. "Yes, I'm tired of standing here."

The men started to walk off, and the female elder shook my hand and took a small bottle out of her pocket.

"Anyway, let's follow them. I'm in the mood for some sake! Are you?"

"Sake! Oh, sure! Looks like you were prepared."

Sake and a more comfy building with a beautiful lady instead of staying at Sora's house seemed like the better option at the time. I just hoped Mayuko would be ok. When I find the sword, I will use it to take Matsuri Shiho's life force and restore Mayuko back to normal.

"Hey, have you heard of Matsuri Shiho? She is a yaka."

"Oh…I see…we have plenty to talk about then, don't we?"

…

"And that is why I must kill Matsuri. I'm sorry Sora, but don't you want Mayuko to be human again?"

"Ye…yeah, of course! But can't you kill a different yaka? Matsuri can't be the only one!"

"I would if I could Sora, but it took me years just to find one. And then finding Sola, passing through Hinamizawa…oh yeah, about that place. You do know that it has opened up again?"

"Op...Opened Up!? What the hell!? But Natsumi lived there a few years ago! I thought the village wasn't abandoned? And they power up the whole village!"

"Oh boy…you're not going to like the end of my story. Those elders were really...quite different. But what you wanted to know has been revealed. Now tell me about how you met Mayuko. I guess you saw her while I was gone."

Sora takes a deep breath, and begins to think about the past, once again...for some reason...it's harder than he thought.

…

When Takeshi was talking to my parents in our house, I decided to go outside and see what was in the box. Hey, it's a curiosity thing. And we don't have any cats. So what the hell.

Our backyard garden is also quite small, but my mother made it very beautiful, with rows of flowers boarding the area, and adding a small fountain in the centre. Behind it was the cardboard box. As I approached the box, it suddenly rattled.

"Ah! What is in that box?"

The box then flipped opened, and out came a girl's head. She looked around the garden, looking for something, until she spotted me.

"You. Where am I? I've been lying in this box all day. It's uncomfortable."

Aha! This was it! The proof I really didn't want, but I expected anyway. Even in the future, I would come to not believe Matsuri as a yaka until I saw real proof and Takeshi's return to my life. But the small girl, who just stepped out of the box, approached me. She was wearing a green dress. Something a Rozen Maiden character would wear. Jeez, I've got to stop comparing to other things. Wait, she's waiting for a reply to her question! Crap!

"Umm, you're in the village of Sola. This is my house. Takeshi is just inside."

Instead, she didn't seem interested in Takeshi. "I can always talk to him later. What's your name? Did you help carry me to this house?"

"Uhhhh…yeah. I'm Sora Ishizuki, nice to meet you…"

"Mayuko Kamikara. Do you know?"

"Know? That you're really…a yaka?" _My urge to throw away all my disbelief in the yaka was at an all time high. And Mayuko just helped me finally throw it away._

"Yes. I am."

* * *

I went inside the house again, and Takeshi suddenly patted me on the back and headed for the door. "Alright then. I'll go talk to the village elders. Thanks for letting me stay at your house. Sora, I'll see you in the morning."

_Damn. What should I do now? Should my parents know about Mayuko? No…I have to go back outside._ After she told me the truth, I rudely walked away. That was the wrong thing. And so I quickly asked my mother to keep my dinner warm when she finishes cooking, and I went back outside. Mayuko was frowning, but then she smiled as she saw me.

"By now I thought you would be running to Takeshi. You're braver than I thought."

"He left the house to see the village elders. All part of the plan unfortunately. Anyone new in this village should stay and help out as much as possible. But, what about you?"

"It's obvious. Apparently I must stay hidden."

"That's not fair. Hey, I'll talk to you while we wait for Takeshi to return."

Mayuko then shrugged her shoulders and sat down with me. She seemed hesitant at first to talk, but we eventually had a long conversation about the yaka race and their powers, and what my village is like.

"Faster regeneration speed? That's pretty sweet. And your only weakness is the sunlight?"

"Yes. And I don't like it. I want to walk in the sunlight and see the sky clearly again."

I can imagine it. Never being able to see the sky. Though I appreciate the stars more than the clouds, I still like the day-time sky. I can't name clouds though, but I like to imagine the shapes while the sunlight warms me up. Such a horrible weakness…maybe the sword will help her? And suddenly, it occurred to me. How long have I been talking to her outside? I looked up, and judging from the increasing amount of stars beginning to shine, it's been an hour.

"Do you want me to get you some food? I should be having dinner with my mum and dad now."

"Yes. Salad. I'm very picky."

_It was finally over. Now Takeshi knows about how I met Mayuko, and I know why he wanted to kill Matsuri. And I was safe from being harmed. Takeshi says he won't kill me, and he would have by now if he was lying. He smiled and patted me on the back._

"Thank you. And I'm sorry. For now, can we still be friends? About the shoulder, it was just so I could get you out of the way. The village elders did order me to murder you, but I will not listen to them. Were quite safe from them actually."

"Yeah, us being miles away from them and all."

There are still things left to figure out. How Takeshi found the sword, what was so bad about the village elders, how my parents died, and the mystery of Hinamizawa and Natsumi. But I can stay positive, because no matter what happens, I have Takeshi, Mayuko and Sae as my friends. And very soon, I will reunite with Mana and Matsuri. Even if I have to stop Takeshi from trying to kill her. Jeez, Yorito has it easy compared to me.


	4. Chapter 4

_"17 years..."_

24 hours have passed, after Takeshi and Sora began to explain their past to each other. Takeshi is looking at a house next to a black tinted car. He thinks back to the day Mayuko died, and how long it's been since that fateful moment.

_"It's been 17 years…I guess I'm an old man now. Better not make Sora not know about who's inside there. For tomorrow…Matsuri will perish."_

Sunday, July 22nd, 2007.

It was a very beautiful day in the town. The clouds were dark and as gray as a stone wall. The sun was gone. Water was everywhere. I have a new appreciation for the rain, ever since I found out about the yaka; or as some people call them, the woe of the night. That's such a weird name though.

**Chapter 4: Double-edged Sword**

Sae Sakura and I are walking under a big night-time sky colored umbrella beside the Kanamigawa river. The umbrella was vaguely similar. It was kind of like the umbrella Matsuri has. Except hers has got pictures of day-time clouds. Behind us were Takeshi and Mayuko, walking at a slow pace, looking at the river with full concentration. I wonder why…

"Hey Sora, why is the goatee man and her yaka daughter looking at the river so much?"

I laughed at her silly question. Her bubbly nature can be so cute. "I don't know at all. Paranoia?"

Suddenly, Takeshi started laughing, though it made me feel kind of nervous. I had a bad feeling about this. And this bad feeling was right. "Look Sora. I found her, and it looks like you have a new rival, that is if you love her. Though I think Sae is a better, safer choice." He pointed out at the edge of the river, while Sae giggled, but then froze as she also spotted who Takeshi was referring to.

…

At the small jetty of the river, Yorito Morimiya is helping Matsuri Shiho into a small boat, while holding an umbrella.

"At times like this, shouldn't the guy be the first on the boat, so they can help the girl board the boat?"

On the contrary, Matsuri just stepped onto the boat recklessly.

"Old fashioned," she replied. She then held out her hand. "Are you ok? Want me to help you?"

"…I'm fine." Yorito steps onto the boat, but then it starts to shake violently! After a few seconds, Yorito grabs onto Matsuri and holds her tight to support her balance. "Are you ok?"

…

'It's him!"

"It's her!"

"It's Yorito! **Oh my god!"**

In order; Sora, Takeshi and Sae exchange shocked faces as they saw Yorito and Matsuri set off on the small boat. Sora is the first to recover. "That's the boy I saw the night I met Matsuri! She's been with him all this time?"

"Yes, thanks to him, I couldn't finish her off in the church," Takeshi mumbles with a frown.

"Wait, that means…when you wounded me…"

"She went to the church. This boy…Yorito, he got in the way. And then she went into hiding."

Sae takes out a notebook and starts writing. "Oh, wait until Mana and the rest hear this! Yorito Morimiya dating yaka girl!"

"Hey! Don't drag Mana into this! And this Yorito guy, he might be doing something with her, but he saved her! And also—"

_Suddenly, that's when I stopped._

"Yorito Morimiya…"

_I couldn't help myself. I sat down on the pathway, holding my head and wondering about that name. Sae joined me, but I told her to get me some refreshments. I don't know what to do now. Takeshi wants to kill Matsuri. And Yorito…is he an ally, or a new rival?_

…

_Meanwhile, Takeshi was having deep thoughts of his own._

_Is now the time? I know where she lives. Sora seems down for the count. If I can just get those two separated…today is certainly the day to finish the work I started 17 years ago._

Mayuko then approaches Sora, who is still sitting down. "It is not a personal relationship. Not yet anyway."

"Huh," Sora replied. "How do you know?"

"It's because he knows. That is why."

She then turns around, and walks across the street to find Sae. Takeshi stops his trail of thought and yells out to Mayuko. "Where are you going!?"

"Away from here. You said last night that you didn't want me to meet the yaka girl."

As she disappears, Sora stands up and takes a deep breath. "I need to take a breather. I'm going to get a drink with Sae."

And as simple as pie, Sora picks up his umbrella and follows Mayuko to find Sae. Takeshi can't help but pull a slightly wicked smile.

"It's time to deal with the yaka."

As Takeshi prepares to launch his attack in the sunny afternoon, Yorito reminds Matsuri that he still wants to help her. As Matsuri stops rowing the boat, Yorito points to the clouds. "To see the sky…I'll definitely show you!" Matsuri blushes, and then grabs one of the rowing poles. "Alright, you have to take us back to shore."

"WHAT!?" As Yorito reluctantly grabs the rowing poles; back at the jetty, the woman running the boat hire stares out at the river. After a few seconds, she takes out a mobile phone and begins to dial a number. After 3 rings, the person on the other end answers the call. "Miss Sonozaki? What's the update?"

"Your never going to believe this. I've located Matsuri Shiho. One of the girls from June 1983. The final June 1983 I mean."

* * *

"This is it." 

Takeshi is standing outside the church, looking out at the sky. It's 3pm, and the sun is back in full shine again, which relives his stress immensely. Mayuko and Sora are currently asleep inside. Sae has either returned home, or she has gone to work. Now is the time to finally kill Matsuri.

…

Meanwhile, in the hospital; Aono Morimiya is sitting up in her hospital bed. Koyori Ishizuki is sitting next to her, watching her do origami. Though Koyori is visiting, she is not a patient in the hospital anymore, though Sora will find this fact out too late. Aono hands Koyori her next finished work.

"Here." Koyori looks at the cube like paper origami. "It's fabulous! Can you teach me?"

Aono thinks about it for a second. "Yes. On one condition."

…

And at Yorito's house, Matsuri has made a big mess in the living room.

"I know you had to lay out all the clothes Mana gave you, but why didn't you do it in your room?"

"Because it's bigger here."

"You never thought that I may want to use the living room?"

"…Yep."

"Nice response."

"Thank You!"

Yorito walks to the main door and puts some shoes on. "Well then, I'm going to visit my sister."

"Have a nice trip!" Matsuri yells back as she starts cleaning up the mess she made. And with that, the door closes, leaving her alone in the house. For now…

…

In the church, Mayuko is sitting on the steps. Sora is next to her, deep in thought.

"Takeshi is a liar. He says he won't work too hard, and be back by evening. And Sora. Why aren't you following him? I thought…you wanted to protect Matsuri?"

Sora is still sitting silently, his fingers touching his chin. What can he be thinking about…?

"Sora? Sora!? Can you hear me?"

_**In the village of **__**Sola**__**…6 months ago…**_

Sometimes, when the sun begins to set…you can hear the faintest sounds of Cicadas. It's a strange feeling, because it once night falls, passes by, and once the sun begins to rise again…it is such an eerie silence.

"Do you try to sound so wise all the time? Seriously…"

It is a new day in Sola. Sora was allowed to sleep under the stars in the backyard, while Takeshi uses his room. It doesn't really matter to him. It's been a habit of his to lie down in the soft grass instead of a comfy bed. And with Mayuko as company, he never felt alone. Though he sometimes annoys her with his occasional dream states and speeches about the sky and stars.

"Yeah…sorry about that. Your mind begins to wander sometimes, when you don't have other things to worry about. Anyway, the sun is going to rise soon. I suggest getting back into your box."

As Sora stood up, entered the house and got himself ready for school, he noticed the lack of Takeshi. Lua; his mother, filled in for that problem.

"Takeshi went to his job. Remember, you called Natsumi, she tells the elders. He seemed to have gotten along well with them too…"

"Yeah, thanks Mum. I'll see you after school!"

But as Sora ran out of the house, still chewing on a piece of buttered toast, he was not expecting that Takeshi has taken up an important job.

"Good morning Natsumi!"

"…good morning Sora-Kun!"

Sora is on the Kimiyoshi's front door. Well, Natsumi lives by herself. She says that her mother has been dead for a while and that her father is missing. Despite this, she seems to keep a happy personality. She is wearing a blue scarf along with her school uniform, because of the cold wind.

"Nice scarf. So how did it go?"

She smiled with full force. "Perfectly! You're never going to guess what happened! Wait until we get to school!"

_School? Wow, this must be good. Especially since school is such a drag. With a village of 200 people, we only have 7 kids here. Natsumi and I are the only ones the same age. The other 5 kids were all younger than us, and they often gang up on us. The 5 of them started a club, where all they do is play games and lay traps for Natsumi and me, probably because we are different and are not so believing in the yaka legends. We only have 1 teacher, which is a bit of an inconvenience of her, since she has to multi-task, teaching different kids who have different ages. So school is a big drag for us. But I guess that will change today._

…

Meanwhile, Takeshi was talking to the other teacher of the school. She was a few years older than him. Despite this, she still looked quite young. Her long, snazzy green hair was tied up into a ponytail and her small teal eyes were shining brightly as they spoke. Takeshi tried hard to not look at her good bust size. Mion Sonozaki slyly smiled at him once he made his announcement.

"Great! It's not that I don't really like Natsumi and Sora, but I feel a bit sorry for them when my younger students trap them and sometimes force them to play their punishment games. It kinda reminds me of my childhood! Hahahahaha!"

"Ha…ha. So you don't mind if I take Natsumi and Sora as my students? Perhaps we can all go visit the city after I'm done here. It would be great for a scenic change for you and your kids."

…

In the present, Mr. Goatee man is walking down the long road down the hill, toward Yorito's house.

"A shame that Miss Sonozaki wasn't able to see this…but as for her kids…that's another thing."

* * *

"_Higurashi ga naku…akazu no mori e…"_

Matsuri Shiho is quietly humming to herself, while she continues sorting out her clothes in Yorito's living room, all by herself. The door slowly creaks open, and a figure quietly sneaks up the stairs…

"**Aiiiieee!!"**

Koyori Ishizuki falls from the staircase, and she suddenly finds herself in Matsuri's arms.

"Thank you very much…I-I am Koyori Ishizuki. I…I am on a secret mission, that was handed me secretly, in a secret place, at a secret time. The details are a secret so I can't tell you. Uhhhh…"

Matsuri looks kind of confused after all the secret talk. She let's go of Koyori places her on the floor. "Ishizuki? Mana? Sora?"

"No, I'm Koyori. Wait, you know Sora?"

"Well…yes and no…by the way, I'm Matsuri."

Koyori is quiet for a moment, trying to register what Matsuri said. "…nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

…

A few minutes later, Koyori is outside the front door, saying goodbye to Matsuri.

"Come back soon Koyori! You and Mana should have dinner with Yorito and me."

She replies back with a smile. "Ok then! But only…if you tell me more about my cousin." At this, Matsuri hums to herself, and thinks about Sora. It's been days since she last saw him…should she go look for him? But as she tells Koyori that she'll think about, she doesn't know that she won' even have to look for him for a reunion.

Koyori walks away from the house, and Matsuri closes the door. But suddenly, she hears another door closing. Someone is in the house.

"…Koyori? Yorito?"

She walks into the living room, where all her clothes are hanging. Waiting for her, after entering through a big window, is Takeshi himself. She scowls as her hunter stares at her eye-to-eye. He takes out a batch of sharp darts, and throws one at her with full force. Matsuri jumps to the side to avoid the ultraviolet light that explodes when the dart hits the wall.

"You can't escape outside today."

Takeshi then pulls off the curtain near the window he entered. More sunlight enters the room. He throws another dart, and Matsuri barely avoids the impacting light. She runs into the next room.

"I'll just destroy your hiding spots and corner you. Not even Sora can stop me today." He tears away another curtain, and slowly follows Matsuri.

…

Meanwhile, Yorito is at the tram stop. He's visited his sister, and is returning home. But will he be able to help Matsuri in time?

…

In the church, Mayuko has finally gotten Sora's attention. He was thinking about school in the past.

"Idiot, go and stop him. Why are you wasting time?"

_Ahhhh…because I needed to remember. My mind is still feeling weird, and it takes all my effort to rethink my memories for some reason. But now, I know how to stop Takeshi. I just hope I'm not too late._

"I was thinking of a plan. I'm going now."

And with that, Sora stood up and ran outside the church. His mind is still reeling. Trying to remember old things was harder than he expected.

_When Takeshi became my new teacher the day after I met him, at lunch time, we usually played Baseball and practiced sword fighting with normal swords and wooden sticks. Hehe…Takeshi is going to fall for his one major rule._

…

Back in the house, Matsuri is still fighting for her life. She drags down a table to stop the ultraviolet lamps from immobilizing her. As Takeshi tears down more curtains in the house, more sunlight shines into the rooms.

"Hehe…how far will you run?"

Matsuri dashes off again, as he slowly gets rid of another curtain and takes his time to wander through the mess he's made.

…

At the tram stop, Yorito is still waiting for a ride home. He yawns effortlessly, and then a hand taps him on the shoulder.

"Yorito Morimiya. We finally meet. I don't know whether to thank you or punch you."

…

The bottom half of the house is trashed and scattered. Matsuri is breathing deeply, hiding upstairs. Smoke is coming out of her body, because of the ultraviolet lamps that Takeshi has thrown. She hears the sound of footsteps…

"Found you."

A dart comes hits the wall in front of her, and she tries to back away from the bright light. She covers her eyes as more billowing smoke appears from her legs and arms. When the light finally fades, she opens her eyes to see Takeshi standing in front of her. A dart flies into his hand via his sleeve, and throws it directly at her.

"_No…I'm not going to be stopped this easily…"_

She raises her right hand, and the dart rusts away before it hits her. It was centimeters from hitting her right hand. Takeshi is really pissed now.

"Well then! You asked for it!"

He throws three darts at once. She barges through the door behind her, and collapses into the final room. Yorito's bedroom. For the next few seconds, she tries to turn so she is lying on her back. Her vision is getting blurry. Smoke is still billowing from her body. And Takeshi enters the room. He unsheathes his sword.

"Accept your fate."

"No…the sky…he hasn't shown me it yet…"

She looks up at the roof. The painting of the sky is still there. Her eyes become empty…

And then she leaps up and grabs Takeshi's right wrist, stopping him from moving the sword. He struggles to keep hold of it, as Matsuri tightens her grip. His face begins to sweat, and Matsuri's eyes become completely empty…

"She's going to kill me."

"AHHH!!!!" His hand and wrist is in horrible pain. A brown coating of rust is starting to cover his entire hand…

And then, Matsuri lets go. Her eyes revert to normal, as Takeshi drops the sword, and falls to his knees. Breathing heavily, he hears the window open. He looks out to the balcony.

"She…went outside? Impossible!"

That was…too close for comfort. She nearly killed me. If only she continued her attack…this reminds me of Sora…and his hesitation to hurt me…

_**6 months ago, in the village of **__**Sola**__**…**_

"Good morning Sora. Good morning Natsumi. I will be your new teacher. You two already know me as Takeshi."

Sora and Natsumi arrived at school today. They probably expected it, but I got stuck being their teacher. Miss Mion Sonozaki was standing next to me as I made my quick announcement to them.

"Well you two, I hope you enjoy Takeshi as your new sensei. I'll take care of the other 5 youngsters, and I'll make sure to provide further protection if Takeshi can't stop those pranksters." She winked and laughed to herself. Loudly. As she left the room, Sora spoke. "Don't worry about her. She's pretty nice, though a little crazy."

Natsumi continued. "Yeah, she's really perfect for a teacher. The one in charge, helping others. But it's good that you're our new sensei!"

Wow, these two are quite energetic today. "Well, I guess we better get started. At lunch, I have a special activity planned."

Since we had so little people, playing sport would be boring. There were a few baseball bats lying around, but I thought it would be nice to teach these two a little hand-to-hand combat. I brought a couple short swords with me, in case I had to fight off an enemy. As the hours slowly went by, Sora and Natsumi chatted to each other while filling in their textbooks. Mion put me in charge of ringing the bell at midday, which was a bit annoying. But I couldn't disappoint her. She was the boss.

At lunch, I took Sora and Natsumi to a clearing a couple hundred meters away from the school. Sitting on a rock, was one of the village elders. Still covered in his hood and cloak, he stood up to greet me.

"Afternoon Takeshi. What are you three doing here?"

"Just having lunch here. I think we'll play a little baseball and give the kids something…unique to try."

At this, the man sighed. "Hmm…I don't like Baseball, reminds me of past memories."

Sora looked surprised. "What? How come elder? Bad player? Couldn't swing the bat?"

"Well…yes and no…anyway, I'd better go. I have to talk to the other elders and have a meeting with the shrine maiden."

The strange man walked toward the school, while Natsumi quietly giggled. "Natsumi, why are you giggling?"

"Hee-hee…no reason. I just know why he doesn't like Baseball. Anyway, what's this special activity?"

I took out my two swords and showed the kids. There are engravings on these weapons, but the sword I want is really special. With its engravings, it is resistant to a yaka's power. Sora was shocked but over-joyed, while Natsumi simply stared.

"Why do you want another sword if you have these two swords?"

Natsumi's voice changed. Her eyes seemed empty. I shook it off and assumed that Sora told her about my mission. "Because of its special engravings. These are regular swords. And with them, you shall learn a little combat."

For the next hour, I showed them the basics to fighting with a sword. Nowadays, swords could be considered ancient and that a gun would be a more efficient weapon. But no gun is going to stop a yaka easily. A sword is the way to go. Back in the civil war, before the Meiji age, samurais were everywhere, killing for and against the government. You always had to be on guard. That's the most basic rule.

"You're hesitant Sora. Swing with the full intention to hurt me."

"Aren't you taking this a little seriously?"

"You never know when the enemy will approach you, and they will have the intention—"

"Baka! Focus on me!"

Natsumi called out to me. She was smiling, but her right hand was bleeding a bit.

"My hand accidentally touched the blade."

…

As the days past, Sora became better with the sword. Natsumi just watched, while eating her lunch. Even though I was messing around with him, if I had let my guard down too much, he would actually strike me. Too bad he hesitated. He never landed a non-fatal blow on me. I always ended up disarming him.

…

In present time, Takeshi is now looking out toward the window that Matsuri escaped from.

"Why waste time focusing on the past. Mayuko's future is going to get better, now that Matsuri went outside."

Suddenly, he heard the door crash open from downstairs.

"Matsuri! Matsuri!"

"Damn it Yorito! Takeshi's already trashed the place. Why did you leave the house in the first place?!"

"Never mind that! Let's check upstairs! Matsuri!"

Hmph. I knew Sora would eventually try to stop me. Oh well, the time has come.

…

_Whether under the sunlight or the dark clouds, is Matsuri Shiho really safe? Is this her chance to see the sky?_

Sora Ishizuki and Yorito Morimiya are standing in Yorito's bedroom. The window is open, and the curtains are also ripped.

"Both of them jumped out this window," Sora states with full confidence. He then reaches toward his belt, and takes out a small knife. Yorito suddenly backs away from him. "Where did you get that!?"

"Kitchen table. Now, I have a plan to save Matsuri. Hey, don't look at me with that face. Come toward me so I can whisper the plan."

"Why do you need to whisper it?"

"Secrecy. Oyashiro-sama might be watching. What? Again with the scared face?"

…

In fact, Oyashiro-sama isn't watching at all. But as Matsuri Shiho struggles to crawl under some shade from the many trees around, she looks around for Takeshi, and for any sign of Yorito. She looks up to the sky for a brief moment…

"I can't see…the branches are in the way…so much for seeing the sky today…"

Her body is still oozing wisps of smoke from the sunlight. She suddenly hears footsteps, and senses the presence of 3 people.

"Ahh, there you are. Looks like you didn't get very far." Takeshi is standing directly in front of Matsuri, with his sword pointing at her chest. "I'm sorry, but this is the end of the line."

She closes her eyes tightly. Matsuri has one last thought. _"You will not escape the __curse__ of Hinamisola."_

"No! Don't hurt Matsuri!!"

Takeshi moves his sword away from Matsuri, and looks at the boy running toward them. Yorito stands in-between Takeshi and Matsuri, spreading his arms out as wide as he can. Matsuri slowly opens her eyes. They are empty and lifeless again.

"You again. Get out of the way. The yaka's eyes are empty again. I must kill her before she tries to kill me."

"No! You'll have to get through me first!"

"I will not hesitate to strike you down. I did not hesitate with the last boy that tried to protect her."

"Heh. That boy. Yeah, I've heard of him. He was behind the vending machine when I first met Matsuri. He broke the machine by accident. He really pisses me off."

"I've had enough of your talk."

Takeshi slashes Yorito in the stomach. Matsuri reacts to this, and her eyes turn back to normal. She lays a hand of Yorito's chest.

"Please! Don't hurt him!"

"That's what you said about Sora."

Yorito struggles to sit up, but he smiles when he looks behind Takeshi's shoulder.

"You know what pisses me off about Sora? His plan."

"Hello Takeshi."

Sora plunges the knife he carried into Takeshi's right shoulder. He felt the steel slide through his flesh and into his shoulder muscle. Half shocked, half satisfied, he stumbles to the ground, dropping the sword in the process.

"…good work Sora. Dirty tactic, sneaking up from behind, but you didn't hesitate. You win this round; Matsuri Shiho. Sora Ishizuki." And with that, he begins to focus on bandaging his wound. He has admitted defeat. Sora grabs the sword and knife and runs over to Matsuri and Yorito.

"Sora," Matsuri says, her voice kind of dream-like. "What just happened? I'm a little confused. I kind of blacked out when Takeshi found me here. I then woke up, and found Yorito distracting him, while you were sneaking up…toward him…"

Yorito stares at the knife, which has blood all over it. "You're crazy. What are you going to do with Takeshi and the knife?"

"Eh, I'll probably drag Takeshi away with me, and dispose of the knife. Matsuri, I have to go for now. I found a lead on where my cousin Koyori could be right now. So I'll come back to visit you and Yorito later, ok?"

"What!?" Matsuri is surprised by this statement. "But we just found each other again. And Mana and Koyori are good friends of Yorito, so all you have to do is stay."

Damn…Matsuri makes a good point. But there is something else on my mind, other than my cousins.

"Ok then! Let me get Takeshi away from the area, and I'll meet you at the house tomorrow. I really need to do some things before I crash at your house."

"Hey! You're not staying at my house! No way!" Yorito seems to not like Sora's idea of staying in his house. But they have no time for any more conversation. They hear the sound of rattling bushes. Mana is yelling out, searching for her friends.

"Damn. Mana is here. I know this is my big chance, but I better deal with Takeshi and meet with you guys later." Takeshi quickly stands up and frowns at Sora. "You? Deal with me?"

"Oh, just shut up and follow me." Sora grabs Takeshi's left arm and pulls him away from the area, leaving Mana to discover Yorito and Matsuri by themselves.

…

"Do you like the rain a little more now?" Matsuri asks Yorito this question while Mana is helping Yorito with his wound. "I think I've grown to like it. But the sky…is not what I expected." Mana curiously looks up to the sky, but only gets her face pelted with more rain. "What do you mean it's not what you expected? How come there's a shallow wound on your body? Do I have to Mana-Chop you too?" Matsuri suddenly bursts into laughter. "It's nothing to worry about Mana. "You'll understand what we mean very soon. Your cousin is just like you in a way."

* * *

_I can sense her presence…but where is it coming from?_

Aono is sitting up in her hospital bed, looking at the sewing kit that Koyori delivered to her. The window curtains are shut, preventing any sunlight from entering the room.

"Aono…you'll be able to leave the hospital soon." Koyori has a big smile on her face. Aono replies back with a happily. "Yes…very soon."

Koyori starts to talk about her day. "You know, I've been thinking…and…do you think we can go on a holiday?"

This sudden statement shocks Aono a little. She didn't expect this. "Where do you want to go? And would it be just us?"

"Of course not! I want to go to the Hinamisola region! Koyori cannot take it anymore. I want to visit my cousin, and I think with Yorito, Mana and Matsuri, we can find Sola village without running into any trouble…"

Koyori suddenly stops. She notices that Aono isn't looking at her, and that she is muttering to herself.

_This can't be. The past has caught up to me._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Are you afraid of the dark? The pitch black void? A yaka's**__**…**__**time period?**_

_Sunday, July 22, 2007. 6pm, Kanamigawa Hospital._

Sora Ishizuki slowly walks into the hospital, with Takeshi slumping on his right shoulder. The nurses stare in shock as they struggle to reach the main desk. The pale and bright lights of the building spur Takeshi into a dizzy and confused state. "Mayuko," he is able to gasp out. "We need to see her."

"No. Not at the moment. The nurses need to stitch up your wound first." Sora looks around, and spots the closest female nurse in his way. For her age, she looks very beautiful, and she brightly offers them to come with her. Suddenly, he drops Takeshi to the floor and slaps himself in the face, hoping that the lighting isn't making him dizzy, hoping that he might be dreaming. "Oh god, you've got to be kidding me…"

"Sora…I wouldn't do that if I were you. We have a lot to talk about."

The female nurse looking at the boys is awfully familiar…she had long light green hair, except it wasn't tied up in a ponytail…and a very good bust size…and yet, Sora still can't believe the smile the nurse is putting on.

"Mion sensei?" He quickly picks up Takeshi, while he groans silently. The nurse grabs Sora's right arm and pulls the two of them away from the doorway and into the elevator. As she presses the buttons to send the elevator up, Takeshi looks up at the familiar figure and grimaces.

"It's not Mion Sonozaki. Sora, I'm sure you've forgotten, but she has a twin who's been following you ever since you ran from Sola. Her name is Shion Sonozaki." _And get on the wrong side of her, and she'll make good use of the taser she probably still has in her possession._

Sora doesn't seem to be aware of this dark side of Shion, as he bows formally to her. "An honor to meet my sensei's sister. Are you a stalker?"

"HEY!" Takeshi yells out, surprised with Sora's strange way of handling this situation. "Don't talk like that. She's--"

"Happy to finally talk to Sora again!" Shion leans forward and kisses Sora lightly on his slapped cheek, which causes him to blush profoundly for a moment. He quickly regains his confidence and speaks up again. "Ok, I didn't see that coming. Sorry for the rude question, but ever since I entered this town, strange things keep happening to me. Are you really a twin? Or is it you Mion-sensei just trying to bluff me? And if you're here as a spy, then you are stalking me you know—"

"Is that so? 2 months on, and you are still quite amusing to listen to." Shion takes out her taser and shocks Sora in the back, which causes him to fall unconscious in the elevator, which has stopped moving. She activates the radio on the elevator, and speaks into it with her friendly tone, while Takeshi can only watch from the elevator floor, in his dizzy state.

**Chapter 5: Miss Sonozaki**

_What a surprise; Mion's twin sister thinks I'm funny…and my entire body feels numb…all in the art of flirting and interrogation…oh well, I'll just lay on the stone floor for a while…wait. Stone floor?_

Sora opens his eyes and tries to move. He's lying on his back in a very dark room. Looking at the stone ceiling, he realizes that he's in a cave and panics for a second. Sora struggles to stand up in an effort to escape the place that Shion might have taken him to. Suddenly, he freezes after spotting some shadows on the wall. He can also see a small beam of sunlight.

"Sora, calm down. It's just me." He strangely recognizes the voice, and decides to stay perfectly still. One of the shadows begins to move, and Sora can clearly see the girl who spoke. He instantly recognizes her.

"You're the girl from my dreams. The girl sacrificed to the yaka in my village centuries ago. Aono Morimiya."

Aono flinches for a second, and then regains her composure, as she stays quiet for a few moments. Sora continues to study her. She looks kind of different to the other dreams where she's appeared in. Furthermore, behind her; he can see Matsuri and Yorito talking to a boy at the cave's entrance. After squinting to get a closer look, he realizes who it is. He tries to sit up once again, but Aono grabs him by the throat and leans toward his ear. Her cold-like voice echoes into his mind as she begins her message.

'_This is not a dream, and yet, this is not reality. When you wake up from your subconscious state, you won't be able to turn back from your fate. You are the hidden link that somehow connects with Matsuri Shiho, Yorito Morimiya and I, Takeshi Tsujido, Natsumi Kimiyoshi and the curse of Hinamizawa. Are you prepared to risk it all to solve the mystery?'_

Before Sora can fully understand Aono's words, she disappears in a flurry of paper birds. He quickly sits up, but it's too late. Matsuri, Yorito and his great-great grandfather have already dissolved into paper birds as well. The sunlight from the cave begins to shine in his hazel eyes, and Shion Sonozaki walks into the cave, holding her weapon.

"Time to wake up my little sweetheart."

…

In an uncomfortable patient bed somewhere in Kanamigawa hospital, Sora Ishizuki wakes up in a cold sweat. He immediately begins to look around the room, panicked that he'll see Shion or Aono again. Well, sharing a room with one of them is pretty bad for him I guess. Beside him, on another bed, Aono Morimiya is staring at him with a completely straight face. "Your exactly as I remember, even if it was centuries ago."

Sora can't believe his eyes. But then again, he kind of saw it coming. All the time he spent in Sola, refusing to believe the tales of the yaka, and the girl that was sacrificed for it. Aono Morimiya, Yorito's older sister.

'_Hmm…she's very cute. Reminds me of Yuki Nagato for some reason.'_

"Exactly as I remember. You regain your composure really quickly. Now stop thinking about me and that fictional character. This meeting was bound to happen sometime, the moment you walked into Kanamigawa."

…

On a different floor of the hospital altogether; Shion is examining Takeshi's wound on his shoulder. He's barely conscious; but he's determined not to fall asleep. Takeshi needs to somehow get back to Mayuko at the church. "You know," Shion muses out loud; "The village elders are very unsure of what to do with you and Sora. I can simply erase the three of you; Mayuko included, from existence, or I can be of assistance in your mission to kill Matsuri." Shion then takes out a small syringe from her pocket, and injects the serum into Takeshi's right arm. "I…don't know what the village of Sola is up to…but don't interfere with my mission…" At this, he finally falls asleep from the painkiller that Shion injected. "Sweet dreams. Before you know it, the two of you will leave this hospital."

…

"I thought you and your brother would be in heaven by now. Looks like Matsuri isn't the only yaka."

Meanwhile, two floors above Takeshi and Shion; Sora has just woken up to find Aono Morimiya in the bed next to him. After the subconscious dream he was in, and after meeting her brother, things are very clear to him.

"It's clearly obvious. As soon as you entered this town, you fell ill. Plus you are allowed to keep the curtains closed while you are here, so that you don't get into any contact with sunlight. And your taste in dolls…ugh…" Sora looks at the basket filled with the odd dolls that Yorito bought for her. He notices the cat doll that he bought at the top of the pile. He can't help but smirk at her. "The Ishizuki deduction gene is telling me you're a Yaka. But what about Yorito? Since he tried to be a hero and all in the sunlight--"

"Enough." Aono silences him with her serious tone. "I get the point. Your arrival in this town has only complicated things." Sora snaps back at her; "And your presence only complicates my life. You don't know what I've been through in the last few months of my life. Hell, I don't really know what I've been through in the last few months of my life. Now, tell me! Is Koyori Ishizuki in this hospital?"

"…" Aono keeps quiet for the next minute while she fiddles with some paper in her hand. Eventually, she sighs in disappointment and answers his question. "Your cousin was a patient in this hospital not too long ago. She was my only companion while I lay in bed all day. The reason I taught her origami is because she reminded me of you. But now, she's transferred out, and is back to living with her sister Mana."

'_Damn it, back to square one. I don't know where Mana lives. And I was so close to reuniting with them. Unfortunately, that isn't the main issue. How does Aono know me so much? Why did she befriend Koyori if she reminded her of me?'_

"I can read your thoughts. How do I know you? How come you haven't reunited with your cousins when you could have done it ages ago? Easy questions to answer. It's all connected to your mind, body and soul. That; and your origin. In the countryside region of Hinamisola."

"Ex…excuse me? Hinamisola? Never heard of it." The answers that Sora has been looking for is within reach, but in its place, more questions are being raised. Aono replies back in a very quiet voice. "25 years ago, I finally perfected my power. And with it, I finally stopped hiding and explored the region with my new power and with my life back on track. I discovered many things about how much our little world has changed. Our village got a name, and with it; the rules of never leaving it. Two towns that I had never heard about, named Okinomiya and Hinamizawa; were supplying Sola, and vice-versa. The myths are true Sora. Hinamizawa IS a cursed village. I can't…even begin to explain everything about our region."

"Keep going. We have all night."

If only Sora knew the full story of Hinamizawa. Aono seems to know however, but she refuses to tell him. What she does instead is leap out of her bed! Now that she's standing, she walks over to Sora and places her right hand on his forehead. "What are you doing!? Are you trying to read my thoughts again?"

'_Disconnected…wandering…muddled up…distant…replaced.'_ After scanning through his head for a full minute, she removes her hand very slowly, and comes to a conclusion. "Your memories are far from normal. You are an incarnation of your great-great grandfather. My best friend before they sacrificed me all those years ago."

…

_And it was with that statement, that my life took another unexpected twist. But then again, it explains a lot. Ever since I woke up in the forests outside Sola, my mind has never felt the same. In fact, to tell you the truth, on that fateful night 2 months and 10 days ago, I woke up with not a single memory of what I had done in the past 3 months. The last thing I could remember was falling asleep in my backyard, next to Mayuko, on the night I met her. Only 3 things were in my mind when I woke up in that forest in my amnesia state; my parents have been killed, a town named Kanamigawa and a girl named Mana Ishizuki. And with those two facts, I started my journey of self-discovery. To reunite with my cousin and to begin a new life. But…10 days in Kanamigawa, and everything has turned on its head._

_As Aono continued to shed light on her past in Sola, I attempted to think back into my final months in Sola. Blanks always appeared in my mind. It took all the willpower in my head to uncover the memories of the next day, when Takeshi became my teacher. As for Aono, everything she said made sense. The leaders of the village in her time still believed in the yaka. They thought one lived in the cave, so they sent Aono as a sacrifice. Pretty simple. I guess it gets complicated when her brother decides to live with her in the cave, and that the yaka was actually Matsuri. It seems that my great-great grandfather was Aono's best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. But she must be hiding something from me. Why am I so important between this yaka love triangle? And why is Yorito still alive?_

…

Aono finishes her story quite abruptly. "And that's how it is. Matsuri, Yorito, your ancestor and myself lived in those caves for the majority of our time spent in Sola."

"Wait. That's it!?" For Sora, the story seemed to have ended too quickly. "What happened to my ancestor? And Yorito, how come—"

Aono interrupts him again with her cold voice. "Some things are better left unsaid."

…

On the other side of the hospital, Takeshi is looking up at the ceiling, lying peacefully on the patient bed; feeling better after having surgery on his shoulder. The door to his room opens, and Shion walks toward his bed, and places a tray of food in front of him. "From what I've seen", she begins to whisper softly into Takeshi's ear, "it looks like you are not going to eliminate Sora. Even though he has acquainted himself with Matsuri, plus he is already starting to regain his memories."

Shion turns away and starts to head for the door, but Takeshi slowly raises his head and stares at her intently. "That is correct. So, are you going to eliminate me because of it?"

She turns around, and gives her patient a seemingly warm smile. "If you have the strength to speak like that towards me, I think you have just about fully recovered." Shion opens the door, and leaves the room quietly, making sure not to disrupt anyone resting nearby. Finishing her shift, she quickly changes out of her nurse outfit, leaves the hospital, and decides that a certain restaurant needs to be visited.

* * *

"**Closing Time Sakura!"**

It was a lonely Sunday night for Sae, as she began to tidy the tables up for Hatori. "Why do we have to keep the Azure open up late on Sunday's too," she moans to herself while she heads toward the front door, to flip the sign from open to close. "Huh?" On the other side of the door is Shion, who was waving happily at the annoyed Sae. She opens the door and lets Shion inside. "Were closing Miss. And you look too happy for my liking," Sae groans at her potentially first and last customer for the night.

"Oh, I'm not here for food," Shion replies in her somewhat sweet yet creepy tone. She attempts to stop smiling, and look serious. "You are Sae Sakura, correct? And your boss is just out the back I assume?"

"Yes, do you have some news for us," Sae yawns back. "Make it quick, I'm really tired. Another pointless Sunday night."

Shion gets straight to the point, disliking Sae's attitude. "I'm a nurse at the hospital. Your friend and co-worker Sora is currently resting, after becoming sick with a terrible disease. Since he has no close-knit relatives living here, I decided to inform you first. He'll probably not be able to work at the Azure for a while. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

A few minutes later, after comforting a shocked Sae, Shion walks out of the restaurant, and takes out her mobile phone. "I love this gorgeous little gadget."

For her mission to follow Sora and Takeshi after they left the village of Sola, Shion was allowed to buy two mobile phones in Okinomiya before departing. The first phone was for her, and the second phone was for one of the village elders', who was keeping contact with Shion and her progress. Everyone in the village have been using normal telephones for communication, and it has been that way it has been for years, even after the invention and rise of popularity for the portable phone. It seemed pointless to introduce mobile phones with the village's weak reception anyway.

"Miss Sonozaki? What's the update?" answered the female village elder, as usual, which was starting to bug Shion. She always started the conversation with those two questions. No time for a quick chat; always straight to business.

"I've infiltrated the hospital and located Aono Morimiya, the second girl from the final June 1983. Sora and Takeshi are also aware of my presence in this town, not to mention that Takeshi will not do anything to Sora now that they've reacquainted with each other. Is that a problem?"

There was a brief moment of silence on the other end, but the village elder responded calmly. "Not at all, Miss Sonozaki. Perhaps it was good timing. I can tell that you are rather annoyed. Do you want me to go back to Sola and grab your sister so you can have a conversation with her?"

"No, you don't have to do that," Shion moaned back. "It is probably a bother for you to leave Okinomiya just to fetch my sister. That and you're having a good time managing the Angel Mort restaurant in my place instead of managing an entire village with those ridiculous black robes you and the other two wear."

"Well," the village elder replied, lightening her tone a notch. "I will admit that your job is a nice break from my usual work. But remember, I am also risking my safety, and most importantly, the village's safety without my usual presence in Sola. Until we figure out whether Matsuri Shiho or Aono Morimiya was the culprit for the events after the final June 1983, and until we are done observing Sora's and Takeshi's actions, you cannot return to Okinomiya, and I cannot return to Sola. Keep that in mind Shion.

Relieved that she had finally lightened up a little bit, even though she changed the topic into something more serious, Shion was pleasantly surprised that the female village elder had said her name, and decided to return the favor. "Aww, don't worry too much. The village will be fine. 24 years on, and you still haven't changed too much Rika."


End file.
